‘GOLDEN ARM’ DONOR WHO HELPED SAVE 2.4M BABIES DIED AT 88

James Harrison, Australia’s “Man with the Golden Arm,” died in his sleep, leaving behind plasma donations that helped save an estimated 2.4 million babies.

Harrison died on February 17, 2025, at age 88 at Peninsula Village Nursing Home in New South Wales, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood said.

Lifeblood’s statement summed up his life in one line: “James extended his arm to help others and babies he would never know a remarkable 1173 times and expected nothing in return.”

His plasma contained Anti-D, a rare antibody used to make medication for pregnant women whose blood could attack their unborn babies. That antibody is what made his arm golden. Lifeblood credited it with helping save 2.4 million Australian babies.

The pledge behind the record

Harrison’s story began on the receiving end. The BBC reported that he got blood transfusions during major chest surgery at 14, then pledged to become a donor.

He kept that promise, donating every two weeks until he retired. NBC reported that he never missed an appointment.

At one point he held the world record for most blood plasma donated, before a US donor overtook him.

Why his blood carried such high levels of Anti-D was unclear, though some reports pointed to the transfusion he received at 14.

Before Anti-D interventions were developed, half of babies diagnosed with HDFN died. It was the kind of diagnosis that once carried grim odds.

The condition occurs when a mother’s and baby’s red blood cells are incompatible and her immune system produces antibodies that attack the baby’s blood cells. It can cause severe anaemia, heart failure or death.

Harrison’s own family benefited. His daughter, Tracey Mellowship, and some of his grandchildren